Described by some critics as a “nun of art,” the never-married
Rossetti was devoted to two seemingly opposing forces: deep Christian
conviction and rich artistic sensibility. Both of these influences
permeate “In the Bleak Midwinter”:

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone:
Snow had fallen, snow on snow
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter,
Long ago.

Enough for him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk,
And a mangerful of hay:
Enough for him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air -
But only his mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man
I would do my part;
Yet what I can, I give him -
Give my heart.

Paradoxical Simplicity

The stark language of the poem belies the intensity and complexity of
its imagery and feeling. Indeed, beneath a deceptively simple surface,
at the heart of the poem is a profound paradox. The juxtaposition of
simple, earthly elements—wind, water, snow, hay—with the ineffability of
the incarnation points toward the very crux of Christmas: might made
humble, Word become flesh, God with us. In this poem, as in the body of
Rossetti’s works, the material world of nature reveals transcendent
spiritual reality. Hence the mother’s simple kiss is an act of worship
of the one true God.

Plain words, echoed by resonant rhythms and sounds, serve as a foil
to the brilliance of the poem’s theological insights. Even while
universalizing the biblical narrative of Christ’s birth by transferring
the scene at Bethlehem to a snowy Victorian Christmas, the poem remains
steeped in Scripture. “Our God, heaven cannot hold him / Nor earth
sustain” restate 1 Kings 8:27:
“But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest
heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” The
vision foretold in Revelation 20:11
is repeated in the lines “Heaven and earth shall flee away / When he
comes to reign.” Most significant is the biblical truth that the most
important thing we can give to Christ is possessed by even the most
impoverished soul.

Writing about Rossetti’s later poetry in the journal Religion and the Arts,
scholar Chene Heady describes how Rossetti’s devotional verses
“re-enchant a disenchanted world.” Within Rossetti’s Christian vision,
formed by the liturgy of her Anglican tradition, “all existence is a
long Advent.” Our earthly condition is “devoid of meaning,” Heady
explains, and gains “significance only through . . . the eyes of faith.”
Material objects, then, such as those that dominate the imagery of “In
the Bleak Midwinter,” serve as symbols of spiritual reality.
Thus Rossetti’s poems are like the parables of Jesus: “sufficiently
complicated as to seem simple to the hearer who misses the point.”

Spirit of Self-Postponement

The very restraint of “In the Bleak Midwinter” forces the poem’s
meaning to burst forth. The same can be said of the poet’s life, too.

Rossetti was born in England to Italian parents in a household immersed in the arts. Her father, an Italian emigrant, was a Dante
scholar. Her two older brothers, Dante and William, helped form the
famous arts community known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and
Rossetti sat for some of their paintings. Schooled at home by her
Anglican mother, Rossetti declined two offers of marriage due
to doctrinal scruples and remained single her entire life. She devoted
herself to her family and her faith, ministering to former prostitutes
and working with the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, as well as nurturing a vibrant inner life as a poet.

Her brother described Rossetti, famously, as “replete with the spirit
of self-postponement.” Yet like her American counterpart Emily
Dickinson (1830–1886), Rossetti’s image as a retired, prudish spinster
is belied by the intensity of her poetry. Paradoxically, as The Oxford Anthology of English Literature observes,
Rossetti’s “curious literal-mindedness produces a wholly original kind
of devotional poetry, astonishing historically because it gives the
effect of being free from self-consciousness—and this later in the
19th century.” The volume identifies Rossetti as “superior to any other
woman who wrote poetry in English before the 20th century” besides
Dickinson.

Despite her apparent self-effacement, Rossetti seemed keenly aware of
her sacrifice—overshadowed by her brothers, unmatched by any suitor,
plagued by illness—yet chose contentment with her lot. Here are poignant
words penned to her brother in 1888:

Beautiful, delightful, noble, memorable,
as is the world you and yours frequent, I yet am well content in my
shady crevice—which crevice enjoys the unique advantage of being to my
certain knowledge the place assigned me.

The paradox of Rossetti’s life is that her “spirit of
self-postponement” produced some of the finest Christian poetry
written—the gift of herself, given to her Savior and received by the
world.

1 comment:

I left a reference to you on frz http://wdtprs.com/blog/2016/01/offensive-aspca-commercial/There are a lot of offensive TV commercials. Most of them are intellectually offensive and offenses against good taste.

The ASPCA has one right now that is offensive intellectually, from the point of view of taste, and also on religious grounds......./......Organizations are free to issue tastelessly manipulative commercials to promote their products or causes. I am free to say that the ASPCA commercial is offensive on religious grounds.

Do this to Muslims, ASPCA. Try it.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------and a comment out of twenty, all interesting ;Muv says:8 January 2016 at 8:24 PMBeing on the opposite side of the Atlantic, this was news to me.

Having listened to the words being sung, it is clear that the producers of this advert were particularly aware of the words of the carol and have edited it to suit their purposes.

The recording is by Susan Boyle and can be heard here:-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI9hc2E-d64&list=RDZI9hc2E-d64

On the ASPCA advert she can be heard in the background singing the first verse. Then the fun starts at the end of the second verse, the final line of which is “The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.” This has been replaced with the final line of the next verse “The ox and ass and camel, which adore.” Then the soundtrack is cut straight to the final two lines of the carol, and continues “If I were a wise man I would do my part. Yet what can I give Him: give my heart.” Meanwhile the plea is “60 cents a day is all it takes for you to say I’ve done my part to help animals who are clinging to life right now.”

So there you have it. Shameless editing out of the direct reference to Jesus Christ to replace Him with the ox and ass and camel, and the parodying of the expression of love for the Infant Saviour to make it an appeal for cash for animals.

So glad that I can guarantee that I will not be seeing this advert again.